Birth rates continue decline after slight pandemic bump

Births in the United States dropped about 2 percent last year, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Analysts saw a one percent jump in birth rates during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the report noted that the latest drop mirrors a drop seen annually from 2015 to 2020. The general fertility rate, or births per 1,000 females ages 15–44, also dropped about 3 percent in 2023.

What did demographic data show? The data showed a 2 percent drop in births among women ages 15 to 19 in 2023, with a record 3 percent drop specifically between the ages of 18 and 19. Births among women in their early twenties dropped by 4 percent in 2023, which the report described as a record low. Women in their late twenties also had a 3 percent drop in births. The report noted that 2023 also saw the highest rate of cesarean births in a decade. The overall rate of preterm births remained essentially unchanged since 2022.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report in Relations on home births reaching a 30-year high in the U.S.